Candidates create signature sounds

Tourists from The Netherlands attend Governor Christie’s town hall. Photo by Anna Sortino

 

Choosing just the right warm-up music for political campaign events is an art. And the kind of music candidates play at their rallies says a lot about them.

All candidates have signature music to warm their crowds coming in and get them fired up going out. Here’s a sampling  of the warm-up music most voters never get to hear:

Carly Fiorina – She had a heavy dose of Blacked Eyed Peas. At least three songs. She knows what she likes.

Jeb Bush – He stuck pretty squarely in the “bro-country” genre, a sub-set of new age country music. He is trying to appeal to a younger crowd and create a laid -back-good-time vibe.

Marco Rubio – He played older country from at least a decade before Bush’s music, like Alan Jackson. He is trying to establish himself as wise beyond his years; playing a classic that is still upbeat can give him a distinguished side.

John Kasich – He had an eclectic mix of pop, folk and country music such as Darius Rucker’s cover of “Wagon Wheel,” and Walk the Moon’s summer hit “Shut Up and Dance.” While at times out of place, it blends with the positive-by-any-means-necessary” vibe of his campaign.

Hillary  Clinton – She has most-recent music of anybody, primarily Top 40 songs by female artists such as Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song.” She’s celebrating girl power while trying to show that she’s in touch with the music of young people.

Bernie Sanders  – Plays a dose of Simon and Garfunkel, reaching for songs that evoke nostalgia with deep meaning.

Donald Trump – His music selections are all over the place. With Billy Joel and Elton John, supporters hear a  dose of 70s and 80s classics. Then, with Beatles and the Rolling Stones, he reached earlier into the classic oldies. When a spirited opera song comes on, the kind you’d expect to accompany The Bellaggio fountains,  you remember that this is Trump: unconventional, doing whatever he likes, and going off script, unwilling to be constrained by the narrower music choices of most other candidates.